I get up around 4-4:30am. I will go out between 5:30am - 7:00am
At lunch - 12:00pm - 1:00pm
After work - 5:30pm - 6:30pm
After dinner - 7:00pm - dark

On the weekends, any time I am not babysitting or at church. Generally I get an hour here or there and 2 hrs after Jenny gets home from work on Sundays.

I don't always get to use all these times every day, but lunch time and after work is definite.

My ultimate dream is to get a house somewhere that has enough land, enough wind and no obstructions so that I can go out and fly anytime I want.

Of course, all of this is also dependent on my darling 5 year old who's attention span is all of 3 seconds or so. Some of the best times have been when Chris and I get out together with our kids as they keep each other very busy (and us as they always seem to have to go potty as soon as we get to our fields..lol)

And finally, all of this is thanks to Kent Kingston, who on April 25th or 26th, 2006, while talking with him about an Acrobatx dual line, uttered the magic words... "Now, if you want to fly something really cool, get a Rev!"

If I get two hours a month thats a lot to fly for me use to fly every day after work now things
change life becomes more filled up. My kids are finnaly at the age were we can go and have some time we have been flying in the school yard near house. not great spot but just enough
to peak interest. my daughter can handle a small dual line herself son is almost there.
After dinner the winds become calm so it is more of a challenge.
Have a great weekend folks

During the week, if the winds are OK, i usually fly for an hour or so after work... although around once a week i go to shoot pool with friends instead of flying... and often, once a week (or so) i go directly home to cut the (bauhuuk!) grass (though sometimes i stop to fly before i cut the grass).

On weekends, i usually fly both Saturday and Sunday. It depends on my mood (which usually reflects weather conditions), but usually i'll fly two or three hours, or more, each day of the weekend.

Today i stopped after work to fly. i planned on staying an hour, but when i got back to my car, i realized i was out flying for two hours! A nice gentleman by the name of Tom Tock was there today (as he sometimes is) flying his big RC plane. There's plenty of room for both of us. He mentioned today, how impressive the kite was flying and asked if it was a new kite; i told him it was the same one i was flying last year. He sometimes goes to the AMA Club field in Muncie, which is where the Trick Clinic is held every Labor day weekend for the dualie tricksters.

Tom P.
Illinois_______ (excerpt from E. E. Cummings: "How many winds make wonderful... and is luck The skeleton of life")

But really about the only time during the week I can fly is after work. When I do it will be for anywhere from 1/2 an hour to 3 hours. Grab a snack on the way to the field and a way I go. I wish I could get out at lunch time, but with only a 1/2 an hour and no where close, its just not in the cards.

Weekends any time Ol Ma' Nature is blowing her hot air and the honey-do list is not to long.

I should have qualified some things a little better. Obviously, Elie and Jenny are the most important things in my life and my flying schedule revolves around them... That's the main reason for the early mornings as it's the only time I am truly free to do anything I want as they sleep in until 7am. I also have to give them immense credit and love for them letting me indulge this new passion that I have. They give me very little grief about my field time and have stopped rolling their eyes when I tell them I want to go and 'fly' for a half hour or so (which ALWAYS turns into an hour (or 2 when Chris and I get together)). At the same time, I am careful NOT to overdo it to the point that they get mad at me for holding my kite and caressing the wind more than holding and caressing them.

I also must say that I tend to save vacation time and personal days and use them to fly also (when I don't have my own honey do lists..lol). There is nothing at all like looking out the window on Friday while at work, seeing the trees swaying and using 1/2 of a personal day to fly until dinner time.

Another really fortunate opportunity that I have is the 1 hour lunch time and a good field only 5 mins from work that is open 99% of the time when I want it. The only problem is when the wind is from the east as there is a tree line. Also, Zach, Ann and Elizabeth show up there to practice from time to time. I love these days as it gives me a chance to watch how Zach flies up close and they are all so friendly and incredibly helpful. The only bad part is that I end up talking more than flying...lol Also, I can never seem to coordinate getting a half day to just stick around more than my lunch hour when they are there.

And finally... I seem to spend virtually every waking moment thinking about flying or seeing if there is any wind. As I drive, I am ALWAYS looking at flags and trees to see if they are swaying. My most visited sites are wind prediction sites. My kites are ALWAYS with me just in case I get the chance to fly.

I also get to see the sun rise and set almost every day... of course, all of this leaves me little time to sleep but to answer Ken's question, I have always existed on little sleep going back to my late teens when I went to school in Chicago and was getting to sleep around 11pm and waking up at 3am to catch a train into the city. The only down side to this is that I tend to crash a couple of times during the day and have to catch a few cat naps for 5 or 10 mins here and there...

i usually only sleep around 6 hours a night or so. What seems to justify that behavior is that i recently read about a study that revealed that people who sleep 8 hours each night do not live as long as people who sleep less... like 7, 6, or even 5 hours each night. At 4 hours, though, well... it is not good in terms of longevity.

Dreaming about kites is uplifting, by the way, while you sleep; if you can get off the ground, that is...

Tom P.

Illinois_______ (excerpt from E. E. Cummings: "How many winds make wonderful... and is luck The skeleton of life")

Recently the only kite flying I get to do is in my dreams! (had a great fly last night...Pamela Anderson and I flew dual quad, she couldn't fly worth a darn but who cares!) Can't wait for this arm to heal.
Invis

I have to laugh... I got Jenny and Elie out to my home field last night. It was so beautiful yesterday with some good wind happening. I set up 2 Rev 1.5's and Jenny stood there, looking at me like I was crazy... I asked her what was up and she said... "don't you think you are setting them up too close together?"

That's one of the best things about flying Revs... you can stand shoulder to shoulder and fly with others... makes learning and talking very easy.

Jenny had a hell of a time yesterday as she is used to flying Dualies and it showed... A few more times out there and she will be just fine..

And, she looks good with a pair of handles in her hands..

I also had Elie flying my b-series with me behind her helping... she started laughing like crazy when it was up and she was steering it (with my help)... Of course, as soon as she though about it, she wanted me to "LET GO"...lol... woosh... smack... then the handles were dropped and back to the sand pile she went...

And yes Ann, we will have to coordinate sometime... soon... you know, Zach tells me that he has a hard time teaching... but I would say that he does fine. My skills lack considerably and completely in comparison, but when I do get the chance to talk and fly with Zach, he gives me some great advice on what the judges are looking for and above all, I can (attempt) to watch his handle movements and the kite to see what he is doing... above all, I get to see what is possible... sometimes, that makes all the difference.

Something I realized is that you can't just tell or show someone what you are doing and expect them to pick up on it and do it right away. I learned last night that you can say... "you do this and this and get this and this"... But, the student has to have the right mindset and understand that there is no way to be shown and then do without a little (or a lot) of practice on their own. The key to learning is the students ability to take what is told/shown and put it into their practice routine. Sometimes, it's just knowing what CAN be achieved that makes the difference.

I always use an example from my pool shooting days when I talk to people about learning and practice. I could always shoot pool... or so I thought until I got on a pool league and got my butt kicked by some great shooters for a couple of years. But I developed a way to make practice interesting and fun for myself and also realized that I could do some of the things that makes great shooters, well, great... and within a few months, started doing what I thought was impossible. It was through many hours of practice that it happened... it also helped to get put in situations that I wouldn't normally put myself in (ala Perry Farms...lol) to get there...

We went flying for an hour on Saturday and for 4.5 hours on Sunday in Pontiac. The field was great and so was the weather, no trees to bother, no obstacles, just wide open space. Here are some pictures of Nick and I flying there.

Maybe after flying on saturday out in pontiac we can find a bar near by with a table? I game. Its been awhile but I like to shoot a few balls around too. Personal stick or house no matter to me. Just a thought.

Frodos Majik wrote:Maybe after flying on saturday out in pontiac we can find a bar near by with a table? I game. Its been awhile but I like to shoot a few balls around too. Personal stick or house no matter to me. Just a thought.

Great idea! Dwight (north of Pontiac) has a few bars with pool tables; i'll ask around about what's in Pontiac; i rarely go there, except for going to the pet store.

Tom P.

Illinois_______ (excerpt from E. E. Cummings: "How many winds make wonderful... and is luck The skeleton of life")